The Delta State Government on Sunday distanced the state
Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, from an online report linking him with a report
that a serving governor from the South-South geopolitical zone was defrauded of
$10m by a girlfriend.
The money, it was reported, was part of the bailout given
to the state by the
Federal Government to offset workers’ salaries.
The state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Patrick Ukah, in a statement on
behalf of the government, stressed that there was no iota of truth in the story
that it was Okowa who lost the money to a girlfriend.
A report in one of the
national dailies (not The Punch) on Saturday quoted sources in the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission that a serving governor in the South-South
geopolitical zone allegedly diverted $10m from the bailout for his state.
The report, which did not
actually specify the name of the governor, stated that the governor was already
under probe by the EFCC after $10m was allegedly hijacked by his America-based
mistress.
However, a follow-up report
by an online medium accused Okowa as the one defrauded of the sum.
Ukah stated, “We are
appalled by the attempt to link Governor Okowa with the story by online media.
We find it ridiculously tasteless and mischievous. This can only be part of the
unrelenting campaign of calumny and the ceaseless peddling of pernicious
propaganda against the person and the office of the Delta State Governor.
“For the record, the state
government has several times in the past given account of how the bailout the
state got from the Federal Government was used. We will not repeat ourselves
here.
“Governor Okowa is a
responsible family man and a well respected public figure.
“His preoccupation has been
and continues to be how to deliver on his promised S.M.A.R.T agenda to the good
people of Delta State since he came to office. And he has received applause and
commendations from far and near for being so focused and unrelenting in the
pursuit of his vision for the state.”
The statement warned that
if “those who are bent on carrying out their devious and dubious campaign of
calumny against the governor refuse to stop this infamous trade of theirs, we
reserve the right to take any action deemed appropriate to seek redress.”
...Punch
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